Coping with divorce can be stressful for all parties involved. In Texas, it may be especially hard for the children to come to terms with living with only one parent at a time. Custody agreements and co-parenting plans seek to make this difficult process as suitable as possible for both the parents and the children.
Child psychologists recommend the 50/50 custody plan as a preferable arrangement for children to account for their physical, social and psychological development. Most people understand the 50/50 custody split as one parent having custody of the children for one week while the other parent has physical custody of the children for the next week. However, the 50/50 custody agreement can be adjusted to allow the children equal time and attachment to both parents during the same week.
For example, a father desires to have more time with his children other than just on their birthdays and prominent holidays. The father speaks to the children’s mother, and they come to an agreement that they will share custody of the children during the week. The parents can implement the 2-2-3 plan. The mother would have the children for two days, the father would have the children for the next two days and then the mother would have the children again for three days. This plan would alternate every week.
The 2-2-3 plan is just one example of the many options that families have for child custody agreements. An experienced attorney may mediate between both parties on preferred child custody arrangements and co-parenting plans. Ex-spouses might be able to eliminate the uncertainty of the process by retaining an attorney who may work to expedite the divorce process and get a fair child custody settlement.